1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to forming memory cell structures for phase change memory.
2. Description of Background
There are two major groups in computer memory: non-volatile memory and volatile memory. Constant input of energy in order to retain information is not necessary in non-volatile memory but is required in the volatile memory. Examples of non-volatile memory devices are Read Only Memory (ROM), Flash Electrical Erasable Read Only Memory, Ferroelectric Random Access Memory, Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM), and Phase Change Memory (PCM). In general, non-volatile memory devices are memory devices in which the state of the memory elements can be retained for days to decades without power consumption. On the other hand, volatile memory devices require constant or very frequent energizing to maintain the state of the memory element. Examples of volatile memory devices include Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) and Static Random Access Memory (SRAM).
The present invention is directed to phase change memory. In phase change memory, information is stored in materials that can be manipulated into different phases. Each of these phases exhibit different electrical properties which can be used for storing information. The amorphous and crystalline phases are typically two phases used for bit storage (1's and 0's) since they have detectable differences in electrical resistance. Specifically, the amorphous phase has a higher resistance than the crystalline phase.
Chalcogenides are a group of materials commonly utilized as phase change material. This group of materials contain a chalcogen (Periodic Table Group 16/VIA) and another element. Selenium (Se) and tellurium (Te) are the two most common elements in the group used to produce a chalcogenide semiconductor when creating a phase change memory cell. An example of this would be Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST), SbTe, and In2Se3.
Altering the phase change material's state requires heating the material to a melting point and then cooling the material to one of the possible states. A current passed through the phase change material creates ohmic heating and causes the phase change material to melt. Melting and gradually cooling down the phase change material allows time for the phase change material to form the crystalline state. Melting and abruptly cooling the phase change material quenches the phase change material into the amorphous state.